It’s the season 0f giving and this month is all about Operation Christmas Child. If you have a child in school, you may very well already know what I’m about to talk about and possibly even done this already, but I want to urge others to get involved, too.
Operation Christmas Child is an annual programme where churches, organisations, groups and individuals prepare and shoeboxes filled with toys, school supplies, personal items, and other small gifts to send to It takes place all over the world but is particularly popular here in the UK.
I remember in primary school every Christmas time that my class would be asked to do a shoebox and it’s always been so much fun. I wanted to relive that memory as well as help a child this Christmas, so my mother, gran, neighbour and I have got together to fill a shoebox to send off.
This is the last week that you can fill and send a box, so if you have the time, find a shoebox (or go to your local shoe shop and ask for one) and find some unwanted goodies, or do like I did and take a quick trip to the Pound shop. Some ideas for items to send are:
- A cuddly toy or doll which the child will take to instantly
- Notebook and pens
- Colouring books
- Hat, scarf and gloves
- Toothbrush and toothpaste
- Soap and flannel
- Non-liquid lip balm
- Hair ties
- Friendship bracelets
- Watercolour paint set
- Costume items to play dress-up, such as crowns and costume jewellery
For even more ideas, there’s a checklist here. A really nice personal touch is to add a handwritten note and even a photo of you. Take it to your local collection point which you can find here.
If you simply don’t have the time to go out but want to help, then don’t worry – you can pack a box online! It’ll take you about 5 minutes max and you still get to personalise it and choose what you want to go inside.
Make a child in need’s Christmas more enjoyable and send a Christmas shoebox this year. The deadline is 18th November so you don’t have long but if everyone who reads this donates one box, imagine how many happy kids there’ll be on Christmas Day!
Have you ever done a Christmas Shoebox? What will you put in yours?
Jazz is a Disney, tea and pop culture enthusiast with a passion for blogging. Also a proud introvert.
We did this every year at school too but my daughters school don’t do it. We do donate to the church where they run their own shoe box campaign though.
Our family does a number of boxes each year and many years I’ve organised them for local schools and churches to be involved too. I also travelled to Belarus with OCC to make a delivery of shoeboxes and it was wonderful. Mich x
My children used to do this every christmas, its a great idea to bring a smile to those kids who otherwise would not be able to receive a gift.
I’ve never heard of this charity before. It looks like a wonderful idea.
I really love this idea. I think it’s a nice way to donate without just giving money. Especially this time of year when it’s about giving and receiving. I would love to do this.
I think this is a lovely idea. We used to do a similar thing in one of my former workplaces, whereby we would each buy a present for a child of a certain age and gender and then it would be delivered to a children’s home.
This would be a fab idea. Christmas is all about giving love, and sharing is loving.
I’ve never done a Christmas shoebox, but it’s actually a really good idea! I might have to put one together
We used to do this at school and I’ve actually done one again this year x
This is a great post. We have done this before and it is nice and simple. More people should find ways to help out during the holiday time!